CHAMPING THE BIT 



Still a third cause is unsoundness of the hocks, 

 curb, and spavin. For these a veterinarian will 

 have to be consulted. In general, when everything 

 about the horse is all right, it will take the contact 

 when sent against the bit. But if anything is wrong, 

 it will refuse contact and beat against the rider's 

 hand. 



CHAMPING THE BIT 



THUS Newcastle translates begayer, meaning a 

 stammering or stuttering movement of the horse's 

 lips or teeth. 



The properly educated horse takes the contact of 

 the bit, and at the contact opens its mouth by con- 

 tracting the digastrius muscle. At the cessation of 

 the contact, the mouth closes again by the action of 

 the temporalis. Early in its education, the horse 

 opens and shuts its mouth quickly and at its own 

 will; not calmly and precisely. It lips, stutters, and 

 stammers. One hears easily the sound made by the 

 snaffle, which is first lifted by the tongue and then 

 dropped against the bit. While this is pardonable 

 in a horse at the beginning of its training, it is a 

 serious defect for the more advanced animal, and 

 should be corrected as soon as possible, before the 

 habit becomes fixed. Otherwise, it may become the 

 cause of further refusals of obedience from mouth, 

 neck, or the entire organism. 



It is certain that the horse which lips, stutters, or 

 stammers has already developed a mouth more 



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